is a

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān L ...

temple in Nakatsu,

Oita Prefecture Oita often refers to: *Ōita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan *Ōita (city), the capital of the prefecture Oita or Ōita may also refer to: Places *Ōita District, Ōita, a former district in Ōita Prefecture, Japan *Ōita Stadium, a multi-use stadium ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The temple stands on the mountainside of Mt. Rakan, the rocky cliff of which has countless mouths of caves. The main gate and the main hall stand directly in the rocky cliff. In the caves, over 3,700 stone Buddhas are enshrined. The temple was established in 1337, but it was destroyed by fire in 1943. The present main hall was reconstructed in 1969.

Gallery

File:Rakan Temple 03.jpg, Main hall File:Rakan Temple 01.jpg, Main gate File:Rakan Temple 02.jpg, 500 rakan in Murodō cave File:Rakan Temple 04.jpg, File:Rakan Temple 05.jpg, Fururakan rocky cliff

External links

Rakan-ji Official Website (in Japanese)
{{Coord, 33, 28, 51.2, N, 131, 11, 10.8, E, region:JP-44_type:landmark, display=title Buddhist temples in Oita Prefecture Soto Zen